In a temporary truce to prevent a labor shortage at the East Coast's busiest port, the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor and the port's main employers group have agreed to hire 225 new dockworkers out of the nearly 700 sought by the group, both sides said Monday.

The commission - which regulates hiring and guards against organized crime influence on the docks - and New York Shipping Association, which represents port employers, have been locked in litigation over the association's desire to hire 682 new dock workers at terminals throughout the Port of New York and New Jersey.

The International Longshoremen's Association, the union that represents dockworkers, is a co-plaintiff with the shipping association in the litigation, a federal lawsuit charging the commission with interfering in the hiring process and thereby threatening to cause a labor shortage with dire economic consequences.

The commission counters that it is within its authority to insure that minorities are included among the longshoremen's ranks, and insists it is simply holding the association and the union to the terms of a new hiring clause in their latest contract. The commission filed a motion to dismiss the suit last week in U.S. District Court in Newark.

To avoid a labor shortage, the commission and the shipping association agreed to a stop-gap measure permitting the hiring of 150 longshoremen and 75 checkers, or union supervisors, effective Jan. 21.

The interim agreement was applauded by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the port and is the landlord of many of the shipping association's members. The bi-state agency said preventing a labor shortage, which could hinder or discourage the loading or unloading of cargo vessels, is critical to the continued health of the bi-state port, which supports 280,000 jobs directly or indirectly, and generates billions of dollars in annual economic activity for the region.

"Our port has been an industry leader in creating jobs and fostering regional economic growth, and the hiring of new port workers will help us maintain that status," Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Deborah Gramiccioni said in a statement.